The grandmothers the state feared

The social memory of how, in the name of secularism during the single-party period, this nation's faith, its religion and its religious instruction were fought against remains vivid and alive. On this subject there is still an oral account, of almost mass-transmitted (tevatür) strength, drawn from living narratives and experiences of that era, which lays out clearly what was lived. In fact, we also have enough official discourse to paint the picture of that period with the same clarity. While the official discourse that developed against the closure of the madrasas and against religious education sketched hostile archetypes of the first order, such as the "hodja," the "softa" and the "reactionary," the people these archetypes actually went out and found were none other than ordinary people living their religion quietly in their own corner.

Indeed, it was inconceivable that this archetype would not, in practice, end up targeting all religious people. Besides, the "enlightened believer," who was neither a softa nor a reactionary, could only be someone who had given up his religion, given up his Qur'an, and agreed to obey unconditionally whatever the political will demanded; and no religious person could accept fitting into a mold drawn for him like that.

Although the picture of that period is very clear, the documents of the Prime Ministry Republican Archive (BCA) (the archive that preserves official state documents of the Republic of Türkiye era, today part of the Presidency's State Archives Directorate; numbers such as "490-1-0-0" denote fond and file codes; party-state correspondence of the CHP single-party period is also found within these archive fonds), whose confidentiality has now been lifted owing to the "statute of limitations," recall those days in another way. If you like, let us take a short tour of this period through a small selection from these documents, whose confidentiality was lifted only as of 8 January 2024, concerning cases of "instruction in Arabic letters and Qur'an teaching."

26 August 1929, Source: Yarın Newspaper

"A woman teacher who was secretly giving lessons in Arabic letters to sixty children in a cave was caught in the act and has been handed over to the courthouse together with her catechism (ilm-i hâl) and alphabet (elifba) books."

March 1934, Document: "Political Security and Public Order Report"

Heading: Manifestations of Religiosity

"Emine Hanım of the Dursun Bey district of Balıkesir, who was found to be giving instruction in Arabic letters and was brought before the court, has been sentenced to one day in prison and a fine of 20 liras."

Archive: BCA, 490-1-0-0, 601-79-2, p. 172

25 September 1935, Document: From the Ministry of the Interior to the CHP General Secretariat, "Secret and for official use only," August Monthly Report on Public Welfare and Order

Heading: Attempts Against the Alphabet Reform

"II- In the Aydoğan quarter of Sivas, a woman named Şeker, a 60-year-old Circassian, daughter of Yusuf of the Camidede sons and wife of Hasan Hüseyin, residing in house number 69, turned the house she lived in into a school and was caught in the act on 13/7/935 while teaching a religion lesson in Arabic letters to 16 children, and has been handed over to the Courthouse."

25 October 1935, Document: Interior Minister's Public Order Report to the CHP General Secretariat, "Secret and for official use only," September Report

Heading: Reactionary Endeavors – Teaching in Arabic Letters

1 - Emine, wife of Yusuf, of the Tepecik quarter of the Simav district of Kütahya, was caught in the act while giving lessons in Arabic letters to six children and has been referred to the tribunal.

2 - Hafız Ali, son of Salih, residing in the Melik Ahmed quarter of Diyarbekir, has been referred to the general inspectorate for having taught children in Arabic letters.

Archive: BCA, SP, CHP, 490-1-601-80-1, Document no: 8

28 May 1937, Document: From Minister of the Interior Şükrü Kaya to the CHP General Secretariat, Notation: "Secret and personal," April Monthly Report on Public Welfare and Order

Heading: Reactionary Endeavors – Instruction in Arabic Letters

"It was learned on 6/4/937 that Ayşe Fatma, about 70 years old, daughter of Hacı and widow of the late Hacı Halil, residing in the Dabakhane quarter of G. Antep, was noticed teaching Arabic letters to 15 children she had gathered in her home, was caught in the act, and was referred to the Courthouse together with the books she was teaching from."

Archive: BCA, 490-1-0-0, 602-83-1, pp. 28-29 Date confidentiality lifted: 8 January 2024

23 June 1937, Document: From the Political Undersecretary on behalf of the Minister of the Interior to the CHP General Secretariat, "Secret and personal," May Monthly Report on Public Welfare and Order

Heading: Reactionary Endeavors – Instruction in Arabic letters

1 - It was learned on 5/5/937 that Ayşe, 55 years old, wife of Mustafa, residing in the Akçakoyunlu quarter of the province of Maraş, was caught in the act on 26/4/937 while teaching Arabic to 17 children she had gathered in her home, and was referred to the Courthouse together with the 22 Arabic books seized.

2 - It was learned on 11/5/937 that Hatice, about 50 years old, daughter of Ahmed, residing in the Kanalıçı quarter of the province of G. Antep, was caught in the act while teaching Arabic letters to 14 children she had gathered in her home and was referred to the Courthouse.

3 - It was learned on 11/5/937 that Hatice, wife of Halil, in the Hayrullah quarter of Maraş, was caught in the act on 28/4/937 while teaching Arabic letters to 7 children she had gathered in her home and was referred to the Courthouse.

4 - It was learned on 21/5/937 that Ayşe, about 50 years old, wife of Kahveci Mustafa, from the Şekeroğlu quarter of G. Antep, was caught in the act while teaching Arabic to 21 children she had gathered in her home and was referred to the Courthouse together with the 35 books seized.

Archive: BCA, 490-1-0-0, 602-83-1, pp. 3-4

14 July 1938, Source: Tan Newspaper

"It has been reported that Ayşe, about 75 years old, daughter of Abdullah, residing in the Alipaşa quarter of Bursa, was engaged in secret instruction in Arabic letters. Ayşe, who was seen teaching Arabic letters to two children named Harika and Zuhal, has been caught."

This is a compilation shared on the account @omerdumgiriz of the valued researcher Ömer Faruk Altay, drawn from many more similar examples. Among the most notable points in the great majority of the cases in this compilation are these: that teaching the Qur'anic alphabet was turned into a security matter, that teaching the Qur'an was criminalized under the heading of opposition to the alphabet reform, and that it was enforced as a public-order matter.

But something else is truly striking: the most frequent perpetrators in these reports are women aged 50, 60, 70.

THE GRANDMOTHER THE STATE FEARED

Şeker, a 60-year-old Circassian in Sivas, Ayşe Fatma, 70, in Gaziantep, Ayşe, 55, in Maraş, are teaching the Qur'anic alphabet to children they gather in their homes. That is, they are resisting the alphabet revolution. Who are these women? Leaders of an organization? Planners of an uprising? Political agitators?

Of course not.

They are neighborhood grandmothers. They are teaching the elifbâ, and in the state's discourse these are recorded as the perpetrators of a great resistance, as an "attempt at reaction (irtica)."

The balance, on the one hand, of a state discourse that claims to liberate women, and, on the other, the treatment meted out to women who act of their own free will and do what the state does not want them to do.

THE SILENT AND MEANINGFUL RESISTANCE OF WOMEN

The madrasas had been closed. Official religious education had been liquidated. But religious knowledge did not disappear. Can you see where and how it lived on:

In homes. In women's hands. In elifbâ books. The state transformed the public sphere, but to control the private sphere it kept reports, neighborhood by neighborhood. Homes were raided. Books were treated as evidence of crime. The numbers of children were reported.

Ask them even now, and they will say "Women were liberated," that in the country people's minds were made free and their consciences made free, that we passed from darkness into light. One wonders, the light of what are they living in?